


Reiki

by thenakednymph



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: I have no idea what this is but when do I ever, Keith is a dumbass who needs to take care of himself, Lance cares but don’t tell anyone, M/M, Massages, Reiki Lance, Witch Lance (Voltron), but not the way you’re thinking again, klance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-16
Updated: 2019-02-16
Packaged: 2019-10-11 09:00:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17443874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thenakednymph/pseuds/thenakednymph
Summary: Keith really needs to realign his chakras or Lance is going to threaten him with a back massage.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> More Reiki and pagan Lance because I can.

Lance wanders out of the showers on the training deck, scrubbing a towel over his wet hair and humming. He pauses when he sees Keith sitting on the end of one of the benches, his back to him.

Keith's body is arched forward, one hand rubbing over the back of one shoulder and up over his neck. Lance frowns.

“Dude.” He puts his hand on his hip as Keith glares over his shoulder. 

“What?” 

Lance tosses his towel aside and walks forward. “You're a mess. The hell did you do?” Before he has a chance to move Lance is putting the flat of both palms against his bare back and Keith hisses, arching away from his touch. 

Lance opens himself to the waves of colored energy knotted and tangled all through Keith's shoulders. Every chakra is misaligned and the energy build up is thick, tangling all down his spine to his hips and up into his skull. Even branching out across his shoulders and down his arms. Lance runs his hands along the knots, probing them with both his fingers and his own energy, giving the knots experimental tugs before moving on. It doesn't occur to him that he’s running his hands along Keith's very bare back until Keith's breath hitches and his body arches into the touch with a groan that leaves them both flushed. 

Lance clucks his tongue in disapproval and puts his hands on his hips trying to disguise their shaking.

“ _Dios_ you're as bad as Veronica,” he mutters, turning and heading for his locker. He misses the brief aborted movement Keith makes in his direction, as if to pull him back before he sits on his hands and glares at his feet not sure what to do. 

Lance pulls a small bottle of oil out of his locker. It's a little longer than his palm and a deep green and Lance cradles it in his hands. He smiles and it's a little sad. The bottle is closer to empty than it is to full and Lance has been saving what remains for a special occasion. If one can call easing pain a special occasion. He thinks this counts. 

When he turns back around Keith is already standing, looking at him warily. Lance scowls again and gestures sharply at the bench. 

“Sit.” 

“Lance, I'm fine.” Keith moves to pull his shirt on over his head and winces, the movement jagged and awkward. 

Lance stalks forward but where he grips Keith's arm his touch is wary, gentle, afraid of hurting. 

“I'm not going to hurt you, you moron. I'm trying to help. Now will you sit down? God, you're making it weird.” He flushes and pulls his hand away. 

“By what?” Keith laughs and Lance’s heart turns over. “Giving me a massage?” 

Lance's face burns but he crosses his arms stubbornly in front of his chest, hyper-aware of his own state of undress. At least he'd bothered to put jeans on before walking out of the shower. 

“Yes.” If Keith thought a little mockery was going to scare him off he was dead wrong. Lance sighs and uncrosses his arms.

“Look, every energy in your body is a knotted mass thicker than the residue inside the food goo dispenser. You need to get that shit untangled before you really get hurt.” He shifts his weight, expression turning sly. “Or else even I'll be able to knock you on your ass during training tomorrow.” 

Keith rolls his eyes but his posture opens and when he speaks there’s a fond note of sincerity in his voice Lance isn't sure what to do with. “If anyone could.” 

He turns his back to Lance and sits down before Lance can figure out what that means. 

He clears his throat and lowers himself to the bench behind Keith, unstopping the bottle and pouring a carefully measured amount of oil out into his hands, warming the oil between his fingers, charging it before touching them to Keith's skin. 

“You're lucky I like you,” he mutters. “This stuff is liquid gold.” 

“What is it?” Keith tries to turn and glance back over his shoulder but Lance swats him on the back of the head. It’s a knee-jerk reaction, one he'd done to Veronica a dozen times over for the same thing but Lance still flushes at the reaction, mortified. He hadn't meant to do that. 

“Olive oil with peppermint, lavender, and rosemary,” he says, voice still choked. “It'll help with the pain.” 

“Oh.” Keith stills as Lance begins to work his hands over Keith's back, sometimes his touch featherlight as he coaxes the energy into leaving, using smooth motions to draw it back to where it belongs. Other times his fingers are firm and sure, soothing the muscle as he untangles a knot. 

He works in silence, brow furrowed as he concentrates on pulling away layer after layer of energy and slowly Keith's muscles began to loosen and unlock. He gives a relieved sigh, body slackening into Lance's touch, head hanging between his shoulders. 

Lance moves to Keith's lower back. “This okay?” he asks. Keith tenses and Lance barely resists the urge to smack him again. 

“Yeah.” 

“'kay, cause if it's ever not let me know. I'm trying to help, not make you uncomfortable. Because seriously man, you are knotted from here-” He draws a line with his finger down Keith's spine to the edge of his sweats, “up to here.” His other hand running up between Keith's shoulder blades and into his hair at the base of his neck. “I can help but you're going to need more than one of these to set you to rights. And you have got to learn to balance your chakras man,” he scolds. “Or else this is going to happen all over again.” He kneads at a stubborn spot of icy blue energy close to Keith's spine, trying to coax it out. 

“You don't even belong there,” he mutters to it, “what are you doing?” 

“What?” Keith asks and his voice comes out thick and low. 

Lance flushes. “Sorry, just...talking to the energy?” His voice lifts into a question at the end as he works away the stubborn knot. Lance can practically hear Keith's confusion and rolls his eyes. 

“There are seven chakra points on the body and in my experience when you get knots like these? Especially in your shoulders,” he presses a palm to Keith's back where the muscle is now loose and pliant, the energy a slow pulsing red with pain. He sends a brief thread of soothing green into it to apologise. “It's because the energy from those chakras has somehow gotten all tangled up. And you can give a killer massage and do your best to work out the muscle but until you untangle the energy it isn't going to get any better.” 

He keeps probing at the wall of energy trapping the light blue in place as he talks. “This spot has got energy in it from your throat chakra. It is not supposed to be here.” He glances down at the spot with a frown. “Now shoo.” Keith lets out a small noise that has Lance flushing but also feeling smug as the little dams around the spot give way and he’s able to pull the energy out and away from it. Keith sags under Lance's hands, body loose and pliant. 

“God that's been hurting for days,” he mutters, running a hand up through his hair. 

“I'm not surprised.” Lance's voice comes out high and tight as he presses soothing green into the space. “It was in there pretty deep.” He works over the spot until it doesn't throb anymore and murmurs a soft apology. “Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you.” 

Keith shakes his head, his words slurring softly. “'s’okay. Feels better.” 

Lance chews on his lips as a runs a hand down Keith's back, convincing himself it's to check for  more knots and not just for the feel of Keith's skin under his hand. 

He leans around Keith trying to look at him, a crease of worry on his face. “You know energy can wound right? The same as a physical blade?” He sits back and runs his hands slowly down Keith's side from his shoulder to his hip, the heel of his hand against his spine, prodding.

“That's what Haggar does,” he says. “I mean sure there's quintessence involved, but at the heart of it what she's doing is witchcraft.” 

He can practically hear Keith thinking. “I thought we'd established that. She's a druid right?” 

Lance nods, working his fingers up over Keith’s neck and into his hair. “Yes, but I mean actual witchcraft.” He sighs, frowning deeply. “I've just never seen it wielded so…” He rolls one hand looking for the right word, “physically manifested before. I didn't think it was possible. Not anymore.” 

Keith laughs and Lance feels the vibrations through his hands. “Don't tell me you're a witch now Lance.” 

The mockery in his voice hurts but it isn't anything Lance hasn't heard before. He closes his eyes and spreads his hands out across Keith's back, palms flush to Keith’s skin. 

“Lance?” 

“Shh, I'm focusing.” He opens himself up and calls to the Reiki energy he needs, imploring it to bring healing. He channells it through himself and into Keith, stopping when something tells him it’s enough, a wave of dizziness creating over him. 

He stands and shakes out his hands, the energy still prickling along his skin. He stretches, his spine popping and looses a breath. He feels tired and wrung out. It's been too long since he last did any real energy work. He forgot how exhausting it could be. 

“There, that should help.” He corks the bottle and tucks it carefully back into his locker, pulling a shirt on over his head while he’s there. He’s starting to hurt. He forces a smile and turns around, closing the locker. 

“It'll probably start to itch but that's normal. Take a hot shower if you haven't already. It should help too.” 

Keith turns as Lance heads for the door, jacket thrown absently over a shoulder.

“You didn't answer my question.” 

Lance forces his shoulders to relax, trying to chase away the fog behind his eyes. “Nope.” He pops the p just to be irritating and slides his hands into his pockets, whistling as he leaves. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh look, another thing I forgot I wrote. Have a part 2.

Lance startles at the knock on his door but opens it. Keith is standing on the other side looking awkward and uncomfortable. 

“About the other day…” he says slowly. “Im- sorry, if I upset you. I didn't know you were being serious.” He looks like he means it and Lance affects an easy shrug, hands in the pockets of his jacket. 

“Yeah, well you never do.” He smiles easily but Keith scowls.

“What's that supposed to mean?” 

Lance sags against the doorway and rubs at his eyes. He can feel a headache coming on and clutches at the snowflake obsidian in his pocket more tightly. 

“Nothing,” he apologizes, “I'm sorry. I don't want to fight.” 

Keith's posture loosens and he looks at Lance like he’s seeing him for the first time since opening the door.

“You alright?”

Lance waves off the question. “Yeah, just- headache. I'm sorry, what did you need?”

Keith shakes his head and steps back. “It's not important. Don't worry about it.” He turns to step away but Lance lunges after him, catching his sleeve.

“It's not nothing- Jesus what did you do?” His hands are pressed over Keith's shoulder in an instant, the muscle a deep angry red and orange and Lance blanches.

“What did you do?” he echoes, his voice high. He pulls at Keith's coat trying to get his hands on him.

Instead of pulling away like Lance expects him to, Keith slides out of the jacket and lets Lance prod his aching shoulder. 

“Sparring with Shiro.” 

Lance swears under his breath in Spanish, something Keith doesn’t catch before Lance is dragging him inside and gesturing angrily at the bed. 

“Sit.” 

Keith sinks onto the mattress somewhat uncomfortably as Lance walks to the bathroom. 

“I'll be back in a second.” True to his word he’s only gone briefly and when he steps back out there’s a small black rock taped to the side of his head. He shucks out of his jacket and crawls onto the bed behind Keith, throwing pillows around, making a small nest in the corner until he’s satisfied. 

“Sit,” he orders again and Keith kicks off his boots, sliding across the bed until his back hits a wall of pillows, Lance sitting against the other wall next to him, his legs crossed. He put his hands on Keith's shoulder and hisses. 

“Jesus you really did a number on this.” He begins to work out the tension, sliding one hand back towards Keith's neck and the other down his arm, trying to be gentle.

Keith's eyes flick to the small rock taped to Lance's temple again as he works. It’s one of the stranger things he's seen Lance do. 

“Does the rock...help?” he ventures, genuinely curious. 

Lance’s hands still and he shoots him a look, gauging what he'd asked and whether or not it was meant to mock. Keith notices the shadows under his eyes. 

“Yes.” Lance ducks his head and goes back to work, fingers stroking over the knots of energy in Keith’s arm and shoulder. “Normally I'd put lavender oil on it but I don't have any. We sort of left Earth in a hurry.” 

Keith nods like that makes sense but he’s never heard of such a thing. 

“Oh...and that helps?” he ventures again.

A small smile finally pulls at the corner of Lance's mouth and Keith finds he’s able to relax. 

“Yeah, it helps. Lavender can ease pain and help you relax so it's helpful on those nights you can't sleep too. This is black tourmaline.” He gestures at the rock taped to his temple. “It absorbs pain. Helps with my migraines.” 

Keith twists to look at him. “You get migraines?”

Lance smiles again and this time it stretches a little further than before. 

“Courtesy of my father,” he says lightly and there’s a flicker of his usual personality in it. “They're hereditary.” He wiggles his eyebrows at Keith. “Lucky me.” 

“Oh. And who taught you...?” He gestures vaguely at his arm in Lance's hands, hand resting gently in his lap.

“My mother. Well, her and  _ abuelita _ , my grandmother. She taught my mom and my mom taught me. It's called energy work,” he explains. “Using energy for healing but there are a lot of other ways to use it too. Either to hurt or to heal.

“It's the manipulation of energy, the bending and directing of it to fit your needs. What I did on your back the other day at the tail end? That was Reiki.”

Keith’s nose wrinkles at the term. “What's Reiki?” 

Lance smiles, running both hands down Keith’s arm. “A specific kind of healing energy. It can speed up healing time, or shorten it I guess? It depends on your perspective. 

“Either way, it can halve the amount of time it would normally take a wound to heal. That's why it itches.”

Keith nods. “I've never heard any of this before.”

Lance shrugs, dragging out a stubborn thread of purple energy lodged between Keith’s joints. “That's because most people think it's hooey and we don't talk about it. At least that's been my experience. It's not like it's physical therapy. What we do is more intangible but no less valuable.” 

“Oh believe me I know.” Keith sighs deeply and sinks further into the pillows behind him. “Thanks,” he says softly. “It helps more than the ice.”

Lance turns smug. “Of course it does.” He flicks a glance at Keith. “You show up outside my door again though I'm going to have to start charging you.” 

Keith looks alarmed and Lance laughs. “I'm kidding, I'm kidding. I'm happy to help.” His expression softens and Keith notes the tension around his eyes. 

“Doing this isn’t making the migraine worse is it?” he asks, a furrow between his brows. 

“I’m fine.” 

Keith scowls. “That’s not an answer.” He tries to pull his arm out of Lance’s grip and Lance sighs in the most long suffering way possible. 

“It’s giving me something to focus on and if this is anything like my standard migraines it’ll be around for another eight hours at least.” He pulls Keith’s arm back into his lap. “The least you can do is stop complaining and shut up so I can help.” 

He works his fingers up under Keith’s sleeve, dragging through the mess of threads, separating them. “There’s no reason the both of us should suffer.” 

Keith finally stops struggling and sits back against the pillows but he’s still tense. 

“Can you take this off? I don’t want to have to work around it.” He tugs on the sleeve of Keith’s shirt with a frown, studying the energy and shaking his head. The knots reach all the way from Keith’s elbow up to the side of his neck and he clicks his tongue reproachfully. 

Keith lifts his arm trying to pull out of the shirt and Lance shrieks, making a mad grab for him. 

“Other arm! Jesus do you want to tangle everything back up again?” he scolds, dragging Keith’s arm back down.

“Pull your other arm out so we can drag the shirt down over your arm. That way you won’t be lifting this one over your head.” He helps Keith remove the shirt, still thoroughly displeased by the amount of damage. He probes at the muscle in Keith’s neck and shoulder, frowning when Keith winces. 

“Did Shiro try to dislocate your fucking shoulder? Jeez.” He covers the muscle with both hands and closes his eyes. It’s a struggle to find the threads of Reiki and coax them into the injury. He always has trouble focusing when a migraine hits. Still, he does his best. 

“You should probably be in a pod,” he scolds a moment later, opening his eyes.

“Rather be here,” Keith says softly. 

Lance hums but doesn’t answer. He drags the flat of his hand over the back of Keith’s neck, drawing the energy down towards his shoulder blade, before starting again, moving out toward his shoulder, coaxing the hard red of his root chakra out of the injury. It’s stubborn and doesn’t want to move so he does it again, hands warm. 

Keith closes his eyes, breathing slowly as Lance studiously untangles the energy, his muscles slowly spiraling loose under Lance’s hands. It’s faster than any other method he’s found to work loose a cramp and leaves him relaxed. 

He’s half asleep an hour later, Lance intermittently threading Reiki into the muscles, running the tips of his fingers over Keith’s arm and shoulder just because he can. Keith sways, hardly noticing when Lance gently coaxes him into laying down, fingers threading through his hair. 

“Go to sleep Keith.”

Keith mumbles something even he doesn’t understand, too relaxed and warm to get up. He falls asleep with Lance’s fingers in his hair, nose buried in the pillow. 


End file.
